Chuka Umunna: Football needs more ethnic minority managers

Senior Labour figure Chuka Umunna has lashed out at English football clubs for the “utterly appalling” lack of ethnic minority managers.

In a scathing assessment, the London MP also said that while a third of league players are black, there are hardly any “people of colour” in the boardrooms.

Mr Umunna made the attack during a speech in which he went on to criticise the lack of black people in Parliament, in board rooms and at senior positions in trade unions and newspapers.

He said: “We think of football as one field that acts as a trailblazer for representation.

“Around 30 per cent of players in the Football League are from a BME background, mostly black, but there are hardly any people of colour in the boardrooms.

“Of the 92 managers in the Premier League and the Football League divisions, just six are managers of colour. That is utterly appalling.”

Mr Umunna said that when any organisation receives a benefit from public money, the government should be “holding their feet to the fire on the lack of diversity”.

He praised ministers for making progress in increasing the number of women in board rooms and said a similar drive is now needed with ethnic minorities.

Mr Umunna went on: “In addition, I would like to see some of our major trade unions implementing the kinds of positive action measures that we have implemented in the Labour party to ensure that people of colour are coming forward for elected office.”